Wide-ranging local legends focus of a new book

In this undated Santa Fe Fiesta parade photo, artist Tommy Maccione (1907-1992) appears to be Diogenes, the Greek philosopher who carried a lamp during the day, claiming to be looking for an honest man. (COURTESY OF THE SANTA FE NEW MEXICAN)

Santa Fe has long been a haven for characters — from the Cinco Pintores to Tommy Macaione and even Billy the Kid.

Local author Ana Pacheco has gathered a wide sampling of historic and present-day residents for her book “Legendary Locals of Santa Fe,” published by Arcadia Publishing ($21.95). Pacheco will sign copies of her book at the Genoveva Chavez Community Center today. Admission is free.

The South Carolina-based publisher called Pacheco, editor of the late quarterly history magazine La Herencia, to propose the project last February. Pacheco dove in by researching stories, news and magazine clippings, and by following up word-of-mouth reports. She relied on gut instinct to weed out the seemingly endless procession of names. Pacheco organized the chapters according to history, literature, art, entertainment, sports, business, and military and public service.

	If you go WHAT: “Legendary Locals of Santa Fe” by Ana Pacheco WHEN: 2-4 p.m. today WHERE: Genoveva Chavez Community Center, 3221 Rodeo Road. CONTACT: 995-4000

In the end, she included such stars as Georgia O’Keeffe, as well as lesser-known trailblazers like Albina Lucero (1879-1957). Lucero became Santa Fe’s first female deputy sheriff in 1926. Appointed by Sheriff Isais Alarid, she guarded female prisoners at the local jail and supervised local dances and community events. She was also a partera (midwife) and curandera (holistic healer). In the 1930s, Lucero received a certificate from the New Mexico Department of Health for assisting hundreds of women during childbirth.

“She was the cover story of my 1994 issue of the magagzine,” Pacheco said. “Her great-granddaughter wrote the story.”

The eccentric painter Tommy Maccione (1907-1992) arrived in Santa Fe in 1951. Known as “El Diferente,” the disheveled artist and his easel were regular fixtures around town, rain or shine. On more than one occasion, city authorities visited his home after neighbors complained about the menagerie of dogs and cats on his property.

“When I was little, he was everywhere,” said Pacheco, whose father worked as a butcher at Kaune’s Neighborhood Market.

“This raggedy old guy would come in and beg for bones for his dogs,” she said.

He often traded paintings for veterinary visits and pet food. Maccione ran for mayor several times and for U.S. president once. He is also remembered for his outlandish costumes during the Santa Fe Fiesta parade. Today, his impressionist paintings sell for thousands of dollars.

Geronima Montoya (1915) and her sister Ramoncita Sandoval (1923) of Ohkay Owingeh Pueblo are two of the oldest participants in the Santa Fe Indian Market. Geronima’s Native American name in Tewa is P’otsunu, which means “White Shell.” Ramoncita’s name is Poekwinsawin, meaning “Terrace Lake.” Geronima paints; an early student of Dorothy Dunn, she followed her mentor and taught at the Santa Fe Indian School, where she painted in the characteristically flat Studio Style. Ramoncita is an embroiderer who embellishes pueblo clothing for ceremonial dances.

In 1926, Albina Lucero (1879-1957) became Santa Fe’s first female deputy sheriff. She was also a curandera (holistic healer) and a partera (midwife) who assisted hundreds of women during childbirth.

“I asked (her) ‘are you ready?’ for the market,” Pacheco said to Geronima six weeks before the mammoth event, the largest of its kind. “She hadn’t even started. She said, ‘I work better under pressure.’ Her sister giggled.”

Lan Tran (1967) was born during the height of the Vietnam War. Because her parents were unable to care for their 10 children, Tran and several of her sisters were sent to the central highlands to be raised by their grandmother. Their grandfather was killed by the Viet Cong for being suspected of helping the Americans. Lan’s grandmother lived simply in a bamboo frame open-air house with a rice grass roof. She taught the children how to cook, gather food and raise children and animals.

When Lan moved to Santa Fe in 1997, she started selling Vietnamese lunches to local businesses. The positive response gave her the incentive to open her own cafe at Santa Fe Village. By 2008, she had outgrown the space and now operates a restaurant at College Plaza. This year, she plans on visiting her 98-year-old grandmother and the home where she grew up and learned the secrets of Vietnamese cuisine.

“She opened (the restaurant) the year the economy collapsed,” Pacheco said. “She made a go of it.”

Of the book’s sports section, Pacheco noted that many Santa Fe athletes had died young. Toby Roybal (1932-1962) was a four-sport letterman at Santa Fe High School who earned a scholarship to play basketball at the University of New Mexico. He earned all-conference honors and set several scoring records. He received invitations to join the NBA but decided to become a teacher at B.F. Young Junior High School instead. He died at 30 of lymphatic cancer. In 1977, Santa Fe High named its gymnasium in his honor.

Española’s Cholene Espinoza (1956) graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy in 1987. She was chosen to be a jet instructor pilot in 1988, training students from all over the world. Espinoza was the second woman to fly the U-2 reconnaissance aircraft in the U.S. Air Force. A military correspondent for the Talk Radio News Service, she was an embedded journalist with the U.S. Marine Corps, First Tank Battalion, during the Iraq War. Today, she’s in her second year of medical school at St. George’s University in Grenada, West Indies.

The Guadalupe Barber and Beauty Shop boasts three generations of Garcias at its helm. Arthur Garcia (1938) learned the business from his father Henry and began working for him in 1950 at their first location on DeVargas Street. In 1960, the business moved to Guadalupe Street. Today, it sits on Aztec Street. Garcia’s youngest daughter Michelle joined the business in 1985,

“There’s an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on the wall,” Pacheco said. “It’s like an old Santa Fe family. My little brother went to Arthur for haircuts. He still does. That’s their barber for life until they die.”

Pacheco knows Santa Fe families. Her own settled here at the beginning of the 17th century.